College Sports Wire’s Andy Patton released an early power ranking for the 2024-25 ACC basketball teams on Monday, and he thinks no team is better suited to run the conference than the Blue Devils.
North Carolina swept the Blue Devils last season en route to a conference title, but Patton moved them down to second after Armando Bacot, Cormac Ryan, and Harrison Ingram headed to the NBA.
The Tar Heels added two big recruits in Ian Jackson and Drake Powell and Belmont transfer Cade Tyson, as well as retaining All-American RJ Davis. Compared to Duke adding [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], [autotag]Sion James[/autotag], Mason Gillis, Maliq Brown, and multiple other elite freshmen, however, UNC’s additions feel less important to maintain a grip on the conference.
The Blue Devils opened the offseason as national championship favorites, so their position atop the ACC makes sense. But some recent power rankings dropped Duke from the top five due to their reliance on freshmen and moved UNC back above them.
Patton rounded out his top five with Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, and Miami. Some historical powers finished lower in his top 10 with Virginia in sixth, Syracuse in eighth, and Louisville in ninth.